Dramatic Ice Rescue in California Caught on Tape

Micky Herman(WRIGHTWOOD, Calif.) — A sledding excursion turned into a rescue operation after a man fell into a frozen lake in Wrightwood, Calif.

The incident was caught on tape as one person after another tried to save the man only to slip on the ice themselves.

A crowd gathered on shore, frantically screaming for help.

After five minutes, nearly a dozen people were in the water while others threw ropes and inner tubes to no avail.

Mickey Herman pulled double duty. You can hear him calling for a rope to help in the rescue efforts all the while capturing the ordeal on camera.

“When the people started going through the ice, it was just total panic. You saw people taking their belts off. It was just total chaos and out of control. We saw that poor guy, the first one to go in, it was obvious he didn’t know how to swim,” he said. “We thought that might be it. We wouldn’t see him again. Fortunately he came back up.”

Nine minutes later, the man who first fell in along with all of his would-be rescuers managed to make it out of the water.